Hakata Ramen from Cherryblossom Noodle Cafe

Last year we marked the hundred day countdown to Best of Phoenix by sharing our 100 Favorite Dishes with you. Now we're back - with the 2011 edition. Have a suggestion for a dish you'd like us to try? Leave it in the comments section or email laura.hahnefeld@newtimes.com.

Sure, it's a weird mix of Italian and Asian fare, but when it comes to a damn good bowl of ramen, we order up the Hakata at Cherryblossom Noodle Cafe, the cozy, unpretentious eatery in Central Phoenix.

Originating from the Hakata district of Fukuoka city in Kyushu (the third largest island of Japan), this ramen delivers a bowlful of rich, slurp-worthy goodness.

First, let's talk broth: rich, cloudy, and made wonderful with pork bone. Then there are the somewhat thin and springy noodles along with sliced Japanese style barbecue pork, bits of green onion, sesame seeds, and kikurage -- faintly earthy and somewhat crunchy mushrooms popular in Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

The result is a fresh and flavorful bowl of ramen perfect for the cooler weather. We crushed ours in record time.

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